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Fantasy Golf: DraftKings Selections for the John Deere Classic

By Hans Geevers

BLAINE, MINNESOTA - JULY 05: Joaquin Niemann of Chile plays his shot from the fifth tee during the second round of the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities on July 05, 2019 in Blaine, Minnesota. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
BLAINE, MINNESOTA - JULY 05: Joaquin Niemann of Chile plays his shot from the fifth tee during the second round of the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities on July 05, 2019 in Blaine, Minnesota. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /
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Fantasy golf lovers don’t get a week off ahead of The Open, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Here are our picks for the John Deere Classic on DraftKings.

The PGA Tour shifts to the state of Illinois for the John Deere Classic. Unlike the last two events on Tour, this tournament has been played at the same golf course annually for several years. The DFS community will finally have an event with a wealth of course history to evaluate as they construct lineups for DraftKings contests.

This week’s event will be played at TPC Deere Run. This golf course is a par 71 that measures 7,268 yards. Historically, TPC Deere Run has certainly NOT been a difficult track for PGA Tour players. This track has wide tree lined fairways. Driving accuracy is not as much of a factor this week with the generous fairways.

This course features Bentgrass greens. Looking for golfers that prefer Bentgrass greens is one possible angle to take as you select players for your Draftkings lineups.

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Expect another week on Tour with plenty of low scores. In my opinion, the winner of the John Deere Classic will post a final score of approximately 20 under par (unless bad weather becomes a factor).

It has to be said that this week’s field of talent is rather weak. Only four of the top thirty players on the current Fedex Cup list will be in the field. Most of the elite golfers on Tour will be skipping the John Deere Classic to prepare for next week’s Open Championship.

As always, I did my due diligence with regard to research on previous winners. One key fact that popped off the page to me was the unusually high number of first time PGA Tour winners at this event.

Let me provide more clarity here. Nine of the last nineteen winners of the John Deere Classic were first time winners on Tour! The moral of the story here is don’t be afraid to roster players for your DraftKings lineups that don’t have a Tour win.

The key statistics I am focusing on this week are: birdies or better percentage, bogey avoidance, strokes gained putting, strokes gained tee to green, and strokes gained approach.

Joaquin Niemann (10,200)

Joaquin Niemann has been playing some quality golf over the last few months. Joaquin has made the cut in six consecutive events on the PGA Tour. Additionally, he has three straight top 25 finishes in his last three events.

It also has to be said that Joaquin has always preferred putting on Bentgrass greens. He will no doubt benefit from the greens at TPC Deere Run this week.

Niemann has only played the John Deere Classic one time. In that one appearance, he performed very well, finishing 23rd in 2018.

As far as statistics go, Niemann checks that box for me as well. Joaquin currently ranks 26th in strokes gained tee to green and 27th in strokes gained approach on the PGA Tour.

Zach Johnson (9,600)

Zach Johnson has an outstanding history at the John Deere Classic. Zach has made the cut at this event 11 consecutive years. In that span, he has an unbelievable seven top five finishes! Johnson won the event in 2012.

Johnson has not had a great year. I clearly recognize that. However, he has made his last two cuts. He appeared to start showing some positive signs with his game at the RBC Canadian Open, where he eventually finished 35th.

I know I am taking a risk here with Johnson’s overall form in 2019. However, Zach has arrived at TPC Deere Run before with below average form and still performed well.  I am willing to take the risk with Mr. Johnson’s outstanding prior results at this event.

Troy Merritt (7,500)

Troy Merritt has never been the type of player to rattle off 10 consecutive cuts. Yes, he can be inconsistent. However, Merritt has made five of his last seven cuts on Tour.

Additionally, Troy has some very good finishes in 2019. Let’s take a quick look at a few of those results. Troy finished 10th at the RBC Heritage in April, 17th at the Memorial Tournament in May, and 7th at the 3M Open last week.

I should also state that Merritt is yet another player that clearly putts better on Bentgrass greens. He also is a player that has won PGA Tour events in the past with very low scores. He has no problem winning a birdie fest.

I also think that Merritt is under priced by DraftKings at a price of only $7,500. I think he provides outstanding value at that price point.

If you are in need of lower priced players to complete your lineups I like the following to make the cut and possibly top 20:

Johnson Wagner (7,200) Finished 23rd at last week’s 3M Open. Has good course history at the John Deere Classic as well.

Hank Leboida (7,100) Finished 14th at the RBC Canadian Open. Has made 8 of his last 10 cuts.

Roger Sloan (7,100) Two consecutive quality results. He finished 21st at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and 15th at the 3M Open.

Fabian Gómez (6,700) Finished 13th at last week’s 3M Open. Finished 23rd at last year’s John Deere Classic. I think TPC Deere Run is a perfect course for Gómez.

Next. Tiger Woods Needs To Play Six-in-a-Row to Finish The Season. dark

Good luck this week. Enjoy the John Deere Classic!

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